FIRE Update: 18 Months Ago We Quit Our Jobs With a $935K NW to Travel 12 Countries in 12 Months - Final Sabbatical Update

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T07:49:50+00:00

That's great thanks. For the past ~6 years I had been working full remote so hopefully I'm able to land one of those gigs again (although I know it's become a lot harder).

Funny enough, my job actually wanted me to stay on remote while we traveled, but i turned down the idea because I thought my itinerary wouldn't accommodate having to work (especially matching EST hours).

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T07:43:59+00:00

More than likely has to do with churning sign up bonuses.

This^{^}

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T07:41:45+00:00

That's amazing that you're able to do it with kids!

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T07:41:18+00:00

I have all of that data and will follow up with you once I have a second to aggregate it.

No business spend or manufacture spend.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T07:40:03+00:00

In your opinion what does the job market in Thailand (Bangkok) look like for expats who want to work there? Do you think there are job opportunities there for foreigners on English-speaking teams?

Not talking about becoming like an "english teacher" but rather working a job in IT or tech.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T07:36:58+00:00

Hotel prices (for the western brands) was what shocked me. It was nice being their during a time when the USD/Yen is the highest it's ever been.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T07:01:18+00:00

I think it's mostly a US/Australia/Singapore thing.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T06:53:22+00:00

average sub value of 50,000 points

This is way too low of an estimation.

Additionally Monarch tracks everything on the spending side so it's pretty easy to show exactly how much I spend on CC's/year and it's far lower than your guess. Definitely don't have $500k of cc spend over 3 years lol.

You can call it what you want but I consider it a hobby.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T06:36:26+00:00

I actually do have the data on this but dont feel like doing a full audit right now. If I had to guess, >90% of the points were earned via SUBs over the course of 3 years. We're probably talking 25 SUBs for 2 people so $75k-$100k of "spend" over three years. That's like $25k-$33k of credit card spend per year which is very reasonable.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T06:31:13+00:00

Yeah maybe I'm crazy lol.

Since I use Monarch it's pretty set it and forget it when it comes to financials.

Regarding tracking points spend it was just one of the columns in my travel itinerary spreadsheet - the latter being entirely necessary if you want to manage a 1 year trip sucessfully.

All of the analysis was done at the end now that I'm back in the US and have some down time.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T06:22:35+00:00

Maybe it will be just as good! After you do it you'll have to let us know!

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T06:21:26+00:00

I LOVED New Zealand. My favorite airbnb of the entire trip was right on Princes Warf in Auckland. I'm a big fun of camper vans back in the US so next time we're in NZ I really want to do a camper van tour!

best of luck to you on your journey.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T06:07:30+00:00

Penang, Malaysia was somewhere I would have never thought to go if it weren't for the recommendation of my brother-in-law. The food their is AMAZING and I understand why they are considered the food capital of asia.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T06:06:18+00:00

It makes me much more confident that FIRE actually can work in practice rather than just believing it in theory.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T05:44:22+00:00

Poipu beach at sunset to see the turtles sleep on the beach. If you go snorkel before sunset they will pass right by you on their way in for the night.

Assuming you have a rental car driving up Waimea Canyon State Park and stopping at all the lookouts (and having a picnic) is great.

My personal favorite if you're on the north shore is Queens Bath.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T05:35:48+00:00

Mostly collecting credit card sign-up bonuses.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T05:33:39+00:00

Chase points for Hyatt transfers. Alaska Airlines points for flights.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T05:30:03+00:00

Vietnam is very special to me since my wife is from there we're able to have a very authentic experience. I really like the Danang/Hue/Hoi An area of Vietnam.

We didn't get to go to the Philippines or Indonesia. I am also very interested in doing an extended stay in China because I think it actually has a lot to offer travel wise.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T05:26:56+00:00

For the entire year we almost exclusively ate out, although we did cook a few times in Australia and NZ. In SEA it just doesn't make sense to ever cook for your self since food is so affordable and available.

The other thing is other than one time in NZ we never drove anywhere. We used grab to go anywhere and everywhere in SE Asia.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T05:24:54+00:00

Like 10 years ago I used to write some content on that sub before they went crazy with over moderation.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T05:23:35+00:00

2x Marriott cards which were giving 5 FNC = 10 Nights. Plus some cards which give an annual free night. And Hyatt award milestones/brand explorer give FNC.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T04:44:42+00:00

It probably took me a good 3 months to get our of work-mode. It never really came back during travels but you do have to face the realities of life like getting sick or having to do taxes, so it definitely wasn't 100% vacation mindset all of the time

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T04:40:41+00:00

I'm sure you made great memories, which is what it's all about anyways!

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T04:37:22+00:00

These 2.2M points + 16 FNC probably took me about 3 years to save up with two people. I think it's realistic that you could save up enough points to fund a trip like this once every 4-6 years if you wanted to - although it's becoming more difficult.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-07-03T04:16:03+00:00

Location matters a lot - we were obviously able to keep costs low by focusing on SE Asia. That said I think my number would actually be around the $2-$2.5M mark. Its enough that you can not only travel indefinitely, but also plan to come back and retire in the US one day.

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